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Fuck. No. “I can’t go as your date to the wedding my ex-girlfriend is working at.”
“Why not? It’s not like you guys were in love. You’ve only been together a month or so. I’m sure she won’t care. Because if she cared, she wouldn’t have dumped you.”
I lean my head against the wall for a beat, inwardly cursing myself for being an idiot. When that doesn’t solve my problem, I grunt under my breath and stand. “I guess my truck’s still at Barside?” My gaze goes to my bedside tables, but my phone isn’t on either one.
“That’s right.”
I don’t give Katelyn a second glance and go downstairs. I find my phone on the floor near the front door and pick it up. Lucas and Garrett both texted to make sure I got home okay.
It’s still early, but I know they both should be up by now. Okay, not Lucas. He’s probably enjoying a quickie with his wife before he heads to the Veterans Center.
I send Garrett a text.
Me: Can you take me to Barside so I can pick up my truck?
He responds while I’m in the kitchen tossing back a painkiller and water.
Garrett: Sure thing. I’ll be at your place in about 20
Me: Thx
I return to my room. Katelyn is still in my bed, reclined against the pillows and checking her phone.
I grab my clothes for the day. “I’m having a shower now. Then Garrett’s picking me up. You can leave whenever you’re ready.” That’s not my favorite plan, but I’m not going to be an ass and kick her out…even if I want to.
She looks up from her phone, her eyes sparkling in the sun shining through the window. I guess I’d been too drunk last night to remember to close my curtains.
“I thought we could get together after you’ve finished work,” she says. “Maybe have dinner.”
“We’re not dating, Katelyn. We had sex.” Very forgettable sex, apparently. “I’m sorry, but I’m not looking for a new girlfriend.”
She laughs, but it’s not Jess’s laugh, and that only puts me more on edge. “I was thinking more like having dinner as friends. Nothing more. That’s allowed, right? There’s no rule that says you can’t go out with female friends after a breakup. Or are you in mourning and can’t even hang out with Zara, Emily, and Simone?”
Zara. Emily. Simone. Oh, crap. They’re Jess’s friends too. Her husband isolated Jess from her friends when they were married. It was why she had a difficult time escaping him. What’s going to happen now that Jess and I have broken up? Will we remain friends? Or will Zara, Emily, and Simone feel like they’re being forced to decide who they can spend time with?
“No, I’m not in a period of mourning,” I say, my voice gruff. “But that doesn’t mean I’ll have dinner with you. And I’m not going to your sister’s wedding as your date.”
Katelyn shrugs, not seeming at all concerned by my response, her attention back on her phone. “My father told me he pulled the festival sponsorship after what happened between you and Chief Wilson. How about you go as my date to my sister’s wedding, and I convince him to reinstate the sponsorship?” Katelyn looks up from her phone, smiling in the way Emily does when someone gives her chocolate—her addiction. “We can discuss things at dinner tonight.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “Theresa already tried to get him to change his mind.” I bumped into her a few days ago in town and had asked her if she could talk to him, hoping she would have better luck than I’d had.
Katelyn lifts her chin, her expression smug. “She obviously didn’t try hard enough. So do we have a deal? Dinner and the wedding, then I’ll talk to my father.”
“Why can’t you talk to him first?”
She rolls her eyes. “Because the wedding is in two days, so his focus is on that and not on anything else. The last thing he wants to talk about is sponsoring your festival. But afterward? Then he’ll be more receptive to me talking about it. Your choice, Troy. Dinner and being my date and I’ll talk to my father…or turn your back on all three?”
My chest raises and lowers on a long, deep sigh. “Okay, on all three counts.” The veterans who are booked for this weekend with Wilderness Warriors live in Maple Ridge, and we aren’t leaving on the overnight excursion until late tomorrow morning.
“Perfect.” She smiles and scoots out from under the covers.
I don’t stick around to see how naked she is. I head to the bathroom. And pray that once I’m finished scrubbing my body in the shower, I’ll discover last night never happened.
That this morning was nothing more than a bad dream.
45
Troy
